Scandal-scarred Horace Mann has reached settlements with about two dozen former students who claim they were sexually abused at the elite prep school. (Michael Schwartz for New York Daily News)

Scandal-scarred Horace Mann has reached settlements with about two dozen former students who claim they were sexually abused at the elite prep school - but a handful of alleged victims won't sign until they see some institutional changes, the Daily News has learned.

A source familiar with the negotiations said the private school, which charges up to $39,100 a year for tuition, tried to settle with the victims as cheaply and as quickly as possible.

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Some victims felt they had to take the low-ball offers because New York state's statute of limitations on sex abuse cases would make it difficult to file lawsuits.

"They are underpaying everyone," said the source, who requested anonymity. "Some people were raped hundreds of times, but they are not getting what they need or deserve."

Talks continued late Thursday night and Friday morning, and the swanky school reached settlements with most of the 32 former students who say they were sexually abused decades ago by teachers and coaches, the source with knowledge of the negotiations said.

A few holdouts on Friday refused to ink any agreements until Horace Mann meets some of their conditions, said the source, including the removal of a large portrait of Eileen Mullady, the school's first female headmaster. Some abuse survivors believe Mullady, who was in charge from 1995 to 2005, helped cover up abuse allegations.

"They agreed to take down the portrait, then said they won't do it until the summer," the source said. "It's a false gesture."

The group also wants Horace Mann to get rid of any board members who are holdovers from the years when most of the abuse occurred, a source said.

The alleged victims include four women, one of whom claims she was beaten as well as sexually abused at the ritzy prep school that went co-ed in the early 1970s, according to multiple sources.

"People think this is all about homosexuality, but it's about pedophilia," said a former student who is part of the mediation talks and only wanted to be identified as "A."

Calls to Horace Mann's current Head of School Tom Kelly weren't returned Friday.

The Bronx institution founded in 1887 was rocked last summer by a New York Times Magazine article alleging widespread sexual abuse at the school by teachers that spanned several decades.

Students arrive at the Horace Mann School in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. (Graham Morrison/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Six former students signed settlement agreements with Horace Mann's lawyers earlier this week.

Another 16 signed agreements late Thursday night, said a source familiar with the talks.

Victims believe the school is anxious to nail down settlements because it fears state lawmakers will eventually pass the Child Victims Act, sponsored by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, a Queens Democrat, sources said. The bill would eliminate the statute of limitations in sex abuse cases and give victims a one-year window to file lawsuits.

Multiple sources said Horace Mann lawyers had tried to lowball the alleged victims with early offers that would total about $1,000 after lawyers' fees.

The group that continued to negotiate into Thursday evening walked away with six-figures on the high-end and $25,000 on the low-end - before attorney's fees -- said the source.

Many of the alleged victims said they were beaten as well as sexually abused, and those whose claims were found credible got the higher settlement amounts, said the source.

Others who alleged different types of abuse got lower payouts, according to sources.

One alleged victim who didn't sign an agreement filed a lawsuit against Horace Mann Thursday in New Jersey state court.

The suit charges that a male student, identified as "M," was carefully groomed by a predatory music teacher at the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, and then molested about 450 times between 1973 to 1977.